... a collection of short essays as multilayered and majestic as the landscape that has been present in everything that Momaday has written ... this poetic love letter to the Earth blurs and crosses lines between genres, times and places, allowing us to see the bridging of our own physical existence with the realm beyond the tangible. Tribal stories, human experience and the spiritual world cannot be separated from the Earth, that entity that must be acknowledged and cared for as she has cared for us ... There is some deeply sad writing about damage we have done to the Earth, and our carelessness, but we have the ability to consider and to be better, to 'not be ashamed before the Earth' ... a size that makes it portable — a movable feast — and can be easily carried and kept near the reader who, like me, after reading from beginning to end will pick it up to open and revisit at random ... Each time we will cherish the stories, images and wisdom that Momaday has cared for and now passes to us, in true Native elder fashion.
... a profound reflection on humanity’s relationship with its terrestrial home, the planet Earth. In this 'spiritual autobiography,' Momaday addresses his intimate, evolving relationship with the land in quick vignettes composed of disarmingly short paragraphs that depict moments big and small ... Momaday writes with a sense of responsibility and sincerity without being saccharine ... Even readers unfamiliar with Momaday will appreciate the timeliness of this important call to care and revel in its poetry, and longtime Momaday readers will especially enjoy references to the author’s early work, including The Way to Rainy Mountain (1976).
Momaday distills age-old wisdom from the elders who came before him into a concise book featuring chapters no more than a paragraph in length ... Wonder abounds in these pages, and the author also touches on the passage of time and the many costs of supposed progress. Though brief, the book serves as a tight summation of many of the themes that Momaday has developed during his long career, and his fans will relish it ... Short chapters of prose that read almost like prayers to the natural world.
... short but satisfying ... Using lyrical, heartfelt language, [Momaday] looks back on a life lived close to nature, and on the joy that natural wonders have given him ... At a time when bad news is in plentiful supply, readers will find Momaday’s words refreshing and comforting in their sincerity.
